Monsters that come at night

"Hi there, I am your personal night monster! I am the brother of the day one, the one that you managed to keep away, behind the defences of brick walls, barbed wire fences and moats filled with water (you sometime use acid instead of water - dont't you?). I am here to scare you at night, because at night your defences just do not work. Do you understand? They do not work at night, and I am free to come and do my job. And my job is to scare you! I will wake you up at 3 or 4 am, and nothing will stop me. I will give you a dream of your son dying, or yourself drowning, or a terrible disease. You will wake up in fear, and then the moment you try to fall a sleep again, I will continue my show. Your car will be stolen, your house will be burgled, you will be thrown out of your job without money, and your stocks will sink. Then you will wake up again, more terrified, and I will continue until 5 am or so. Then I will let you sleep for a short while, and you will wake up exhausted, to start your new beautiful day. And I will hide in my retreat and laugh at you.

 I have a friend, who is a bit more kind to you. And he sometimes substitutes for me. He will not scare you; instead he will send something or someone you would love. Great sex, success at work, children getting to Harvard, stocks going up 100x, or just the kind of happiness that is beyond anything earthly. It will be in your reach, just at the stretch of your arm. And when you want to reach for it, he will make sure you cannot get it. He will wake you up, grinning his teeth silently. And then repeat it again, until all your confidence is shattered to pieces. Then you are ready to go for the challenges of the day.

We are your monsters. Very personal ones. We have been with you when you were 4 (remember that dream about the broken bridge and how you desperately pulled the bus to make sure it does not fall down into the river - your Grandma was inside?!), when you were 20 (remember all these beautiful girls in your dreams...?), when you were 30 (remember what happened to your children in some of these dreams?).

We are a part of you"

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Does anyone here have such nightly monsters? How do we best handle them?